Abdul Razzak tried to corner Nida Dar with sexist comments but she kept in line
A recent interview of former international cricketer Abdul Razzaq is doing rounds on social media and that too for the wrong reasons. Razzaq sat down with Nida Dar of Pakistan's women's cricket team, in June for a tete-a-tete in a talk show hosted by Nouman Ijaz, excerpts of which conversation have triggered a debate online.
The three, among other members of the show, talked about women in sports when Razzaq casually made sexist remarks over Dar's appearance and future in the sport. When the Raqeeb Se star inquired what Dar would have chosen as a career, had it not been a cricketer, she shared she still would have opted to be a professional athlete.
— Ghumman (@emclub77) July 14, 2021
To this, Honey Albela laughed and joked, "Do you have some kind of allergy with marriage? You don't want to talk about it at all." Wafa Butt, another host of the show then questioned how many sports academies are available for women in the country?
"I know there are few at the college level," Ijaz responded. Dar added, "If some colleges and schools have space, then they do try and incorporate cricket in their extra curriculum activities. Girls from rural areas and villages move to the city to play cricket, in hopes to pursue this as a profession."
Butt intervened and asserted, "And then they leave when they get married."
Dar then commented, "They try to play the sport as much as they can since you never know after the wedding."
"Oh, they don't get married," Razzaq quipped. "Their field is as such. When they become cricketers, they strive to be as equal as their male counterparts, if not better than them. They want to prove that not only men, but they can also do it as well. The feeling [to get married] is is gone [by the time they excel." He further added by saying, "If you shake her [Dar] hand, she is anything but feminine."
Dar decided to respond to Razzaq and shared, "Our profession is such that we have to gym. We have to bat, bowl, field. Hence, we have to stay fit." Cutting Dar off, Razzaq added, "You can tell by the haircut she has." While others continued to laugh at the so-called jest, Butt questioned, "I had this query for a while. Can you not play cricket with longer hair?"
"You absolutely can play with long hair," Dar answered. "But for someone who has kept her hair long, it would affect her game." Ijaz then remarked, "There are certain requirements when it comes to sports. Why can't one play with a three-piece suit? You have to abide by the need of the sport."
The clip that went viral yesterday irked many with Razzaq being called out for his sexist comments.
"So disgusting all these people literally jumped on her,' a user commented. "Can't even imagine how much sexism our women cricketers go through. Nida Dar is a star!"
— a (@rays_alpha) July 14, 2021